COVID-19 Death: Corporation workers found mishandling corpse

In the video which was shared with ETV Bharat, four corporation workers in Puducherry can be seen carelessly unloading the corpse -wrapped in white cloth- and then dropping it in the already dug pit. Health department officials, when contacted by ETV Bharat, said that the workers might have been scared since the family members themselves did not turn up for the last rites.

Puducherry: The Union Territory which recorded its first coronavirus death has come under criticism after its sanitary workers were found inhumanly mishandling the body while carrying out the burial.

A 44-year-old man from Thousand Lights area in Chennai died of cardiac arrest while visiting his wife staying at her mother's place in Puducherry on June 4.

The body was taken to the government hospital where the COVID-19 test of the patient returned positive on Friday.

Following this, the procedure of burial was initiated by the government.

In the video which was shared with ETV Bharat, four corporation workers can be seen carelessly unloading the corpse -wrapped in white cloth- and then dropping it in the already dug pit.

Health department officials, when contacted by ETV Bharat, said that the workers might have been scared since the family members themselves did not turn up for the last rites.

"We will provide refresher training to our workers on how to handle the burial," the official said.

With regards to the first COVID-19 death in Puducherry, the official said the death will be added to Chennai's count.